Agencies-Gaza post
Japan warned against Russian gas supplies
The Asian nation has no choice but to buy LNG from Moscow, Mitsui OSK Lines said.
Japan will still have to import Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) due to rising energy prices and limited prospects for restarting nuclear power plants, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing Japanese transportation giant Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).
The company’s CEO, Takeshi Hashimoto, told business daily that Japan has no viable alternatives to Russian LNG, which it buys relatively cheaply under long-term contracts to secure its baseload capacity.
“We cannot use many nuclear power plants; Therefore, the balance between supply and demand in the energy industry is quite tight,” said the CEO. “Nowadays the spot market for both LNG and coal is quite expensive. This is one of the reasons why Japan is so reluctant to stop LNG imports from Russia.”
According to Hashimoto, MOL plans to continue serving Japanese gas buyers like Tokyo Gas and Jera with imports from Russia. “As Japanese buyers require Sakhalin-2 LNG, we will definitely try our best to continue our normal services regardless of Russian national policy.”
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the reorganization of the Far Eastern Sakhalin-2 LNG project and transferred ownership to a new domestic company. The move, which came in response to actions by “unfriendly states,” could edge out Japanese investors Mitsui and Mitsubishi, which hold a 22.5% stake in the project.
Moscow said that despite the changes, deliveries of LNG to the world market will continue unhindered. Nonetheless, the Japanese government has reportedly advised residents and businesses in the greater Tokyo area to conserve energy to avoid blackouts.
